In a Time of Princes and Peasants
by universallyfictional23
Summary: When young princes of Asgard and their companions are sent to Medival England by their father to rid the land of a vicious beast, they are constantly butting heads. But when a young mortal girl falls into the middle of their quest and they are cut off from Asgard, how can the two brothers manage to join forces and complete the quest? (Takes place before the movie "Thor" - OC)
1. Chapter 1 - A quest

"Father," Thor knelt and brought his fist to his chest in respect.

"You asked to see us, my king?" Asked Fandral as he and the other three did the same as their princely companion, dropping to their knees.

"Yes, I did," the All-Father responded. He motioned to them all, showing them that they could rise to their feet; they did. "My son, Lady Sif, Warriors Three, I have summoned you with the purpose of sending you on a quest." The five friends exchanged excited looks. "It will be dangerous, but it requires no one but the best warriors of our realm. Obviously, I have deemed you five to be those warriors."

"Where will you be sending us, my king?" Lady Sif asked.

"Midgard."

A wide, nearly wolfish grin spread on Fandral's face and he looked to Thor, who returned a knowing smile.

"But," the king began, causing the young men's smile to fade slightly. "It will be to a different area than any of you have ever been before. It will not be the familiar Nordic setting that you are accustomed to. You will be going to a place called Brittania. There have been reports of one or more creatures ravaging the land." The aged king paused and rose to his feet. "Your mission will be to kill or imprison these beasts and to restore peace to the surrounding regions." He met his son's gaze.

"It will be done at once, my father," Thor responded firmly.

The five of them began to walk away, but the kings voice stopped them again.

"One more thing, Thor," he began. "Your brother will be joining you shortly."

"LOKI?!" Thor shouted, wheeling around to face his father. "But father, I don't… Is that really wise?"

"I believe it is," Odin returned placidly.

"Did Loki wheedle you into allowing this? Or was this your idea?" Thor demanded.

"This was not my doing, but rather the doing of a young boy asking his mother to propose an idea to his father," Odin replied.

"Mother spoke to you of this?" The youth asked.

"Yes, and after many hours of conversing in earnest, she convinced me to allow Loki to accompany you."

"Father, I don't-"

"Silence, Thor," Odin stopped him. "Do not question my judgment and do not press this matter any further, lest you wish to infer the wrath of your mother."

With a slight gulp at the idea of his mother becoming cross with him, Thor silenced himself and bowed to his father.

"Yes, father," he spoke softly. "I shall do as you say."

"I cannot fathom how my father would think allowing Loki to come along is prudent!" The eldest prince exclaimed to his four friends as the marched through the halls of the palace.

"Thor," Fandral began. "You really shouldn't speak so harshly of your father. Anyways, would it truly be as bad as you say if Loki were to accompany us?"

"Yes," Thor stated fiercely. "It would be. The fool has scarcely travelled further than the boarders of the city, let alone gone on a mission. He refused to be trained in combat as I was and, instead, spends his time locked up in either his room or the library pouring over dusty old manuscripts filled with spells and incantations. He is practically hopeless in hand-to-hand combat!"

"Hmm," Lady Sif hummed. "That _is_ rather inconvenient with the mission in mind."

"Well, perhaps," Fandral continued, scratching the back of his blond head in an easy going humor. "But all I'm saying is that I don't think that it will be quite the Ragnarök that you're making it out to be."

"Also, I'm having a hard time understanding how this happened anyway," Thor continued. "Loki usually couldn't care less about being left behind while we are sent on missions. I am inclined to think that this was either entirely my mother's doing or else it was due to the peer pressure and nagging of a friend of Loki's… if he has any… I just don't see any other possible accounting for i-"

"Oh, I volunteered of my own accord, brother," a soft, silvery voice stated as a darkly clad figure stepped out from around a pillar.

"Loki!" Thor exclaimed.

"Do you not think me capable of coming to the decision to join you on my own?" The dark-haired youth asked sharply.

"No… well… that is…" The older brother fumbled slightly before straightening and taking several steps towards his younger sibling. "I merely thought that it was out of the ordinary for you to wish to come with us at all," he smoothed over, extending his arms.

"And you thought right," Loki stated coldly, brushing past him. "Congratulations, Thor. Your skills of observing the total obvious are improving."

While Thor took this insult rather badly, Volstagg took the opportunity to attempt to lighten the mood instead of standing by awkwardly while the two brothers quarreled.

"So, Loki," the rotund, red-bearded man began jovially. "You are coming with us. Wonderful! I'm sure this will be an exciting first for all of us! Perhaps whi-"

"While your attempts to improve the atmosphere are appreciated, Volstagg, I am afraid they will do nothing to disarm my brother's frustration with me," the younger prince stated. "Why don't you all take your leave to prepare for our journey?"

"Er, yes," Fandral nodded at the boy's suggestion.

Taking the hint, they all left the two brothers alone in the hall. Once they were out of sight and earshot, Loki turned to his older brother with a teasing grin.

"Are you cross, brother?" The youth asked cheekily.

"Loki…" The blond prince warned.

"Don't take such jests to heart, dear brother," he said in tone of mocking comfort as well as a indicative edge to his voice. "I've heard tell that it gives one a strange desire to spend time alone, read, and study things like… magic," he spoke with mock horror in his voice. "Can you imagine?"

"Loki, is this merely one of your tricks?!" Thor shouted. "Did you devise this whole nonsensical idea of you coming on a quest with us merely for your own amusement?"

"No," he answered coldly. "I have completely solid reasons for coming. The fact that it would vex and confuse you was merely an enjoyable factor that surfaced afterwards."

"Loki," Thor softened his tone, attempting to contain his frustration. "I'm not sure you should come. It could be dangerous."

"All the better," the younger brother returned with a glint in his vibrant green eyes. "Do you not think that I can handle myself, brother?"

Thor paused at this and considered his words carefully. "I think perhaps you should train before you come with us on one of our missions."

Loki brushed past him again and began to walk away. "Father has given me leave to join you, and join you I shall."

"Do you even know how to prepare for such a conquest?" Thor shouted challeningly.

"I packed last night right after I convinced mother to reason with father to let me go," he responded.

"How did you even know of the quest yesterday?" Thor demanded loudly after him. "We learned of it a few moments ago!"

Stopping in his tracks, Loki turned around and looked at his older brother.

"Well, my knowing of it first would be due to the fact that I have keener ears than you do, wouldn't it?"

"You spied on father?!" Thor exclaimed.

"I wouldn't call it that," he mused. "More like simply listening intelligently instead of bellowing constantly like a wounded bilgesnipe. It's a useful tactic, you should attempt to learn it sometime."

"I DO NOT BELLOW!" Thor bellowed.

The dark haired boy chuckled quietly and said in his softest, most collected voice, "Of course not, brother. Now," he began, walking away. "I shall meet you and the others outside the palace when it is time to depart. I have a few more books to pack. Oh, and Thor, _do_ try to accept the fact that I'm coming by the time we have to leave."


	2. Chapter 2 - Deep in the forest

_Bzzzz…._

_SLAP!_

A young midgardian girl pulled a face of annoyance as she swiftly ended the brief life of a small black insect the moment it landed on her arm. Flicking its smashed remains off of her skin, she continued harvesting wild blackberries from the thorny plant in front of her. Her knuckles and fingers had small red scratches adorning them from the multiple times she had allowed the sharp black thorns to scrape over her skin as she stole the ripe fruit from the brambles.

There was no wind to rustle through the leaves far above the girl as she crouched on the ground. Her bare feet were pressed sturdily into the soft forest floor and her tattered white dress trailed on the ground beneath her, dirtying the hem. She pushed her dark blonde hair back from her forehead and flung its length over her shoulder, letting it hang down almost to her waist.

With a tired sigh, she leaned back from the berry bush and sat on her heels as she popped one of the sun-ripened fruits into her mouth. The black berry burst with a warm flavor in her mouth and she savored every moment of the taste. It had been a while since she had tasted anything so good and she wanted to indulge in eating more; she would've eaten the whole bush if she could, but she had already eaten more than she should've and it was mandatory that she didn't fill her stomach too much. Other wise, she would get hungrier faster since her stomach would expect more food that she usually had, which was very little.

Dusting off her knees, the girl stood and picked up the basket, which was weighed down with the food she had been able to scavenge. Making her way over to the next fruit growing plant, she began to pluck several pears off of the low hanging branches of a pear tree that stood nearby. After totally filling up her basket, she draped a clean rag over the top of the fruit, one of the _only_ clean things she owned.

She stretched and breathed, looking around her.

_I had better make my way back to the stream,_ she thought to herself. '_Tis getting dark._

Her mind was completely calm, unperturbed, and unworried. After all, this was all normal, wasn't it? Nothing unusual or out of the ordinary ever happened to her anyway. Why should today be any different?


	3. Chapter 3 - East?

Dressed in suitable, Midgardian attire, the six party members stood in the middle of a dense forest, packs of food and other supplies on their backs… except for Loki, who could store his baggage out of sight and summon it with magic. They had only been on Midgard for two days. They had arrived in the middle of a forest where no one would've been able to see the bifrost give them passage. Following the directions that Heimdall had given them, they steadily worked their way through the shrubbery and trees towards their goal. Hopefully, at the rate they were travelling, they would arrive at the village of Eberon on the outskirts of the forest the following day.

Loki maintained a steady pace for both his feet and his breath; he did not want to wheeze like a winded horse despite his physical exertion. Darting a green-eyed glance over at his older brother, he observed how Thor barely even seemed phased by their long trek that they had been making for the past seven hours. Loki's eyes narrowed slightly in jealously, but a moment later, the look was gone and he looked forward again.

Not much had been said between the two brothers since yesterday. Loki merely treated the silence as a time for Thor to recover his pride while the younger prince waited indifferently. Thor, on the other hand, was brooding. He was still uncomfortable with the idea of having his little brother present for this quest, which he intended to complete victoriously just as had done in the past with previous quests. He only hoped that Loki would not get in the way.

After several minutes more of walking, the group broke for a quick rest and some water. Idly, Loki glanced up at what little he could see of the sky. Sundown was coming and, although he could not see the sun exactly, there was a red glint on some of the higher leaves. His eyes narrowed again. Something wasn't right. His sense of direction was itching and he wondered if they were heading in the right direction.

"Thor," he got his brother's attention.

"What is it, Loki?" Thor asked, sounding tired.

"Are you certain we're going in the right direction?" He inquired.

"Yes, why?"

"Something doesn't seem right…"

Thor let out a laugh. "It's merely the excitement of the quest, brother. I told you might be a bit much for you! Don't worry, you can still ask Heimdall to open the bifrost if you wish to return home."

Loki strove to master the indigence and anger welling up inside him. "No, that's not it! I think we're going the wrong way!"

By this time, the rest of the party had noticed the two brother's conversation and stood by, watching.

"And why should you think that?" Thor asked. "I was not aware you knew this forest. I thought you had never been to Brittania before. Or am I wrong?" He asked in a mocking tone. "Stop being such a bother, Loki! We were supposed to turn to the east and then walk in a straight line, Heimdall said. We were to always be travelling in the direction that the sun rises. We _are_ walking to the east!"

"If that's so, then tell me this, Thor: Why is the sun setting in the north?!" Loki demanded, losing his hold on his anger.

"What?" Thor asked, confused, looking up at the dome of leaves above them. "How could you possibly be able to tell where the sun is?"

"Call it intuition," Loki stated in annoyance, crossing his arms.

"More like idiocy," Thor mumbled.

"Call it whatever you please, I care not. But I think you should figure it out, brother! We did not travel all this way just to become lost!"

"We cannot be lost, Loki!" Thor stated. "We travelled in a straight line!"

"A line slightly altered by every tree we had to outflank," Loki added. Thor's expression changed ever so slightly as he saw the potential truth in what his brother was saying. "We are in a forest," he stated, motioning around them. "A natural maze. It wouldn't be hard to become lost in here."

As Thor went to respond, the slight noise of a snapping twig and the sight of something moving up in a tree above them caught Loki's attention.


	4. Chapter 4 - A Girl

A twig snagged on the frayed edge of the young girl's skirt as she shimmied up the tree and tore a small hole in the worn, white fabric.

"Curses!" She hissed under your breath. "Soon, there will be nothing left of this garment but threads and rags!"

Settling herself on a sturdy branch, she reached down and freed her skirt from the twig before resuming her climb. She hoped that by getting to the top, she might be able to see what direction the village lay in.

She had been in this forest many times, but this had been the first time that she had wandered quite this far. Alas, she had been desperate for some food. The result of her search, the basket she had filled with fruit, lay on the forest floor far below.

Looking down, she grew slightly dizzy at how far away the ground looked and she quickly closed your eyes.

"Don't look down," she scolded herself. "Just keep climbing!"

After hauling herself up the tree for several more branches, she reached the top and looked around.

_The village lies to the east at the edge of the forest,_ she thought to herself. _And the sun sets to the west. So it must be in that direction, verily._

Having divined a direction to travel in, she sighed and lowered herself down to several lower branches. Just as she had begun her descent, however, she stopped and listened. She heard voices. They were close. Panic rose in her throat and she desperately hoped that it wasn't a search party come to find her.

Falling completely silent and looking down, she saw a small group of men and one woman. There were two men with blond hair and beards, two men with black hair, one rather large man with red hair, and the woman had long black hair. One of the men with black hair was speaking adamantly to another one of the men, one with long blond locks, who appeared to be the leader of the group.

They were arguing about which direction to go and whether or not they were lost. The one with the blond hair seemed to be insisting that they were not, while the other one took the opposite view.

As she listened, she shifted her weight slightly on the branch she was sitting on and she winced as a twig got snapped off and went falling towards the ground below. She heard the conversation below fall silent and she shut her eyes tight, praying that they would not see her.

Everyone stopped speaking as they all heard the noise and Thor looked around. Fandral even pulled his sword from its sheath.

"What was that?" Thor asked. "We weren't supposed to be seen until after we reached the village!"

Loki did not answer as his bright green eyes floated upwards to spy a most surprising sight: a young girl in a faded white dress poised in the tree above them. Her long hair fell softly around her bare arms and her eyes were fixed on the group with fear.

She looked at each of the party members in turn and her smoky blue-green eyes lingered on the man who held the sword. Suddenly, as she moved her gaze to the next person in the party, stunning green eyes linked with hers. She gasped and froze at the sight in shock and fear. But the black haired man said nothing as he looked at her. He didn't even motion to any of the others. But a sly, pleased, and utterly devious grin appeared on his face. Her heart stopped.

_Please!_ SHe mouthed to him. _Don't…_

Holding up three fingers poised to snap, he grinned at her mischievously. Still frightened, but slightly confused, she cocked your head.

_Snap!_

**_CRACK!_**

The moment he had clipped his fingers, the sturdy branch she had been sitting on broke in half underneath her and she began to fall through the air with a short scream. Everyone on the ground looked up, startled, at the sound.

As she fell, she was whacked and cut by branches of varying sizes. Being bombarded with blows, she cleared a ground-bound path through the greenery. It wasn't a long fall, but it was a high and painful one at that. Just an instant after she had cleared the branches however, she landed in something much softer: a pair of strong arms.

Dazed and aching, she looked up into a handsome face, the face with the green eyes and the mischievous smile still frozen on a fine pair of lips. The man who had caused her fall had caught her.

Watching the girl fall, Loki quickly hurried underneath her and caught the poor battered thing in his arms. Grinning down at her dazed expression, he examined her appearance and found her to be rather good looking, though disheveled. There was a fairly deep cut on her forehead above her left eyebrow and another on her cheek. There were also several twigs and vibrant green leaves stuck in her hair.

"Spying, were you, my dear?" He asked in his smooth voice.

Her blue-green eyes were not yet in focus, but they were fixed on him and, at the sound of his voice, her face flushed slightly. He grinned again, but, almost instantly, her face paled, her eyes rolled backwards, and she fainted in his arms.

Honestly a bit surprised, Loki's eyebrows rose and he chuckled softly to himself, wondering whether her faint had been the result of her fall or her encounter with him. A voice pulled him out of his thoughts a moment later.

"Is she alright?" Fandral asked in concern.

"Yes, I think so," the younger prince responded, turning around. "She's merely swooned."

"Good Valhalla!" Fandral exclaimed as Loki turned and walked back towards them, the girl still in his arms. "She's a pretty thing, isn't she?"

"For heaven's sake, Fandral," Lady Sif complained. "Not now!"

"We should wait here until she's awake again," Loki stated, looking down at the young girl's face.

"I agree," Volstagg concurred when he saw Thor looking doubtful. "We should wait here. We were going to have to set up camp soon anyway. We might as well do it here."

"Very well," Thor nodded. "We'll set up camp. Sif, you will stay here and help me get food ready. Fandral, you will go fetch some water from the nearby steam. Volstagg and Hogun, you will go gather wood."

As everyone departed to attend to their tasks, Loki took a step towards Thor.

"And what of me? What is there for me to do?" Loki asked his older brother.

"Take care of your new lady friend, Loki," Thor told him. "I trust that you _can_?"

Loki looked at his older brother indignantly, then turned away, not even responding.


End file.
